Photograph by Jenny Morkel
The last few weeks has seen the Lovell gallery holding a photographic exhibition on Woodstock. You have one week left in which to vote for your favorite picture so hurry down to the gallery and cast your vote before the 15th November.
Over a cappuccino, ILW spoke to Andy Parker of the Lovell gallery about how the idea for this competition came to be, as well as future plans for the event.
Photograph by Colin Brown
Andy was driving through Woodstock (with a rough map given to him by museum manager Brendan van Kraayenberg). Like many of us when we first ‘discover’ Woodstock, he was astounded at the variety and breadth of all the different aspects of this particular suburb, as well as the way new Woodstock was quickly encroaching on old Woodstock. Fearing that a lot of this heritage would be lost to the future, he decided to do something to capture as much of it as possible, by holding an annual photography competition with Heritage Day as the catalyst.
Photograph by Lisa Visser
With the sole criterion of capturing some unique aspect of Woodstock, a large number of photographers set out to do just that; and it is clear that the old versus new Woodstock is a strong element in many of the photographs.
The Lovell gallery is planning on this being a yearly event and the idea is to get all kinds of photographers and photographic schools to take part in next year’s competition. Andy believes strongly in giving back to the community and emphasises that any monies made from this and future events will be put straght back into the community for example through these kind of art projects. Communities, he believes, that take pride in their surroundings are better off all round and this is the Lovell gallery’s way of doing their bit.
Photograph by Carolynne Higgins
The selection was whittled down to the 20 photographs currently in the gallery. These 20 will be published as a desktop editon of which the winner will receive a copy.
The public vote will close on the 15th November (so hurry down to the gallery to vote!), and a panel headed by gallery owner Tamsin Lovell-Miller and comprising of local councillor Brett Herron, the Art Times’ Eugene Singer, Jean Brundrit from UCT, and Joel Singer of Origins coffee will meet on the 17th November to select their favorite. The public vote and the panel vote will then be collated to arrive at a final winner.
Visit the Lovell gallery at 139 Albert Road, Woodstock or visit the Lovell gallery webpage for more information. For a more general overview, have a look at our gallery overview here.